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A former boss of EA thinks Nintendo will follow Sega eventually as just a "software maker"

7/25/12 8:05pm

In an interview with GameIndustry, former EA boss Bing Gordon stated due to the increased competition from the mobile market, Nintendo will be the first to drop out from the "Big 3" console hardware makers.

He stated they are already on track with the Wii U being the start due to the tablet and mobile market itself and not due to their own business decisions. In order to stand a chance in the future as a hardware maker, Nintendo would have to form a partnership with Apple.

His reasoning to why Nintendo would drop out included comparisons to Sega when they were a hardware maker and the "pinch" from the huge competition mobile devices are creating against their handhelds which is seen as their main stronghold. He did admit that Nintendo hasn't really committed the same level of huge mistakes that Sega did which lead to their demise from the hardware market.

"I think Nintendo’s already on track to become primarily a software company. We saw that with Sega back in the day; Sega made some missteps and became primarily a software company. Nintendo hasn’t really made missteps, Nintendo probably has better creative talent and better leadership now than Sega did. It’s got the most robust business model, the best creative talent; Miyamoto’s still the best in the business. Apple’s most directly competitive with Nintendo. So far, when Miyamoto makes a perfect game, in his career he makes games worth $200 – it’s worth buying a system for. I think the handheld is going to be under a lot of pressure. I can imagine a day when Nintendo wonders – and maybe it’s generational change – when Nintendo wonders if they ought to take some of their best games and make them apps."

He did feel Miyamoto is the wild card for Nintendo's future since he;s seen as the one who has ensured Nintendo survived all the challenges its faced so far but Nintendo's biggest challenge ever will occur once he's gone.

In terms of the other hardware makers, he felt Microsoft has nothing to fear due to the Xbox 360 being their "consumer miracle" console while Sony's future is tougher to predict due to their multiple divisions all impacting each other. 

Full interview at GameIndustry.

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g1 DISCUSSIONS

maroon

April 3, 2013 - 3:11pm

I'm curious to see what will happen next. May the "player" that displays the lower cost take the lead on the market as long as the prices are competitive. We've already come so far in the mobile market.

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August 2, 2012 - 10:23pm

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Solid Snake613

July 27, 2012 - 11:47am

A huge part of the N64's success was because of Rare. Now, Retro is the new Rare, and if they can step it up and make a ton of original and awesome games for the Wii U, it will do fine. Software sells hardware after all. That's what i think Nintendo needs is a developer of the same caliber as Rareware. On top of that, Nintendo is getting a lot of support from Ubisoft and other 3rd party developers. If more and more 3rd party developers can jump on the U train and make actual games and not casual party games, then Nintendo can make it.

Ben Singer

July 26, 2012 - 8:40pm

He does have a point. Wiis are collecting dust on store shelves, the 3DS is getting trampled by trying to compete with the iPhone, the Wii U is still a mystery which only unwavering Nintendo loyalists are interested in, and Nintendo's only saving grace since the N64 has been it's AAA first party games, of which the vast majority are Miyamoto's.

And no, you can't argue Nintendo won't fall out because they have great games. That argument actually SUPPORTS Gordon's prediction as what they'd fall back onto. Games are software, of course.

Depending on how many more years Nintendo can take of financial loss, Gordon's prediction coming true really depends on the Wii U and 3DS completely failing, one of which is unfortunately already in progress. Despite the aura of nostalgic immortality many associate with Nintendo, this is certainly possible considering the Gamecube's failure and all the popularity lost due to the Wii. And it's very likely the new Wii audience will not help back the Wii U, similar to how the new DS audience has yet to back the 3DS. The iPhone and tablets might have stolen these new audiences away for good. In this way, Nintendo really isn't in a very good position right now. Sad to say...

HOWEVER! Nintendo's got a lot of fight in them. My opinion doesn't hold as much weight or cred as someone like Gordon, but if they survive the Wii U and it revives their profits I actually think Nintendo will be the LAST out of the console era, because their business model has always relied on solid hardware and they've shown no real signs of changing that, unlike Microsoft and Sony. It's the whole reason why we have a 3DS XL and Wii U right now. However, they won't necessarily be the last because they have the better console, but because Microsoft and Sony will move on to new technology; all-in-one cloud-based entertainment and the like, and naive Nintendo will resist and have to be dragged out into a brave new world. Where they will, of course, develop a focus on software. It's very possible that the next generation of consoles will be the last, and Nintendo will fight to keep it going as long as they can.

But all that is so far off in the future, so who knows? But seeing as Nintendo holds a defining spot in my childhood, I find their current position and potential extremely interesting, for better or worse.

And while they aren't known for making the kind of mistakes Sega did, keep in mind Nintendo made one mistake even larger than anything Sega could've: they created their greatest enemy, the PlayStation, which in turn inspired the Xbox. The current competition only exists the way it does because of Nintendo picking the freakin Phillips CDi over Sony.

So this means if Nintendo ever does go under, it's all Phillips' fault. :)

nintendojunky89

July 26, 2012 - 8:34pm

i completely agree and the title of this article is not what he said. the title exagerated he said: i can see it happening: not "i think its going to happen

Two-Bit Specialist

July 26, 2012 - 3:48pm

I've said it once, and I'll say it again: the day Nintendo quits the console market, I'll quit buying new games all together.

E-GAG101

July 26, 2012 - 1:18pm

and this is why EA is considered evil, for someone even to suggest such a thing is mutiny

Pascal

July 26, 2012 - 12:28pm

I think Nintendo made some bad decisions starting with the GameCube. I've owned a GameCube and Wii, so don't get me wrong, I thought Nintendo was awesome until a few years ago. The Cube and the Wii had some major flaws, though. The GameCube was worse than the XBOX and PS2 (because of the small discs and the "kiddy" reputation), so it lost. The Wii was worse than the PS3 and XBOX 360 but succeeded because Nintendo completely focused on casual gamers and innovated with their motion controls. A few years later, however, many people (like me) got bored of the party games and gimmicky controls, so many Wii's started collecting dust. But it was still a big success for Nintendo. This leaves me wondering how the WiiU will do. The tablet seems even more gimmicky than the Wiimote and the graphical capabilities of the system will most likely be the same as the PS3 and XBOX 360. Casual gamers won't buy it because WiiU sounds like an updated version of the Wii (Like Nintendo DS, DS lite, DSi). Gamers won't buy it because it doesn't look any better than the current consoles and they're not interested in the tablet (since Microsoft and Sony are both working on that as well, with Smartglass and PS Vita Remote Play).

If the WiiU fails, which is possible, then Nintendo might become the next Sega in a few years. This former EA guy is right.

Metroidvania98

July 26, 2012 - 12:33pm

The reasons the Saturn and Dreamcast failed are due to major, major mistakes done by Sega. Had Sega managed either one of those consoles better they could have still been around today. Nintendo is not Sega. Its unthinkable for them to make as many mistakes as Sega did back then. It wasn't a single mistake. It was mistake after mistake that eventually lead to their cataclysmic demise and yet Sega is still around today. So no way is Nintendo going to become the next Sega.

BloodBird

July 26, 2012 - 11:47am

I so agree, I've looked at the games Nintendo puts out since the end of the 64 and most importantly the gamecube and they're trash. They no longer put effort into most of their games, they feel just by their name if they make a game people will buy it and they keep making stupid ass games like quit smoking, yoga, sudoku, how to cook, and countless based on tv show for kids games that nobody wants to play. Big up Nintendo or go home, put some real effort in your games and you'll get some real results.

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